Blockchain Technology Application for Electronic Voting Systems

Mani K and G. Dhivya

Department of Computer Application Karpagam Academy of Higher Education Coimbatore-641 021, Tamil Nadu., India

Keywords: Remote Electronic Voting, Security, Anonymity, Transparency Blockchain, Smart Contracts, Mobile

Applications.

Abstract: Low voter turnout, limited access to polling locations, and mistrust of the voting process persist as ongoing

challenges within the voting system. Addressing these issues, this paper introduces a pioneering solution: a

blockchain-based remote electronic voting system. This system aims to empower users in creating their voting

procedures, ensuring transparency throughout the voting process, and guaranteeing fault tolerance even in the

event of hardware failures. Leveraging blockchain technology, renowned for its security and immutability,

the proposed system establishes a decentralized and transparent voting process. Users can securely register

their identities, cast anonymous votes, and modify their votes while the voting session remains open. Real-

time access to voting results and a robust smart contract system further enhance the system's transparency and

reliability. By eliminating the necessity for physical polling locations and enabling mobile voting, this system

has the potential to bolster civic engagement and increase participation in the electoral process. While the

implementation of blockchain-based electronic voting systems continues to evolve, this paper delineates the

potential benefits and challenges associated with such systems, providing a promising path for the future of

secure and transparent elections.

1 INTRODUCTION

One of the most important issues with the voting

system continues to be low voter turnout. The event's

limited duration and location, as well as mistrust of

the voting process, are the causes of the poor voter

turnout. The most promising method to get rid of

these factors is remote electronic voting, which has to

deal with the challenges of not only guaranteeing

fault tolerance but also ensuring total security and

defense against hacking for the entire system.

But as technology advances, new possibilities

arise, altering the current circumstances. The issues

with distant electronic voting will be resolved by the

usage of blockchain technology. Therefore, the

objective of the study is to create a blockchain-based

remote electronic voting system that will enable users

to meet the following requirements: the capacity to

generate voting object lists, the capability of

registering voters, the option to cast an anonymous

ballot, the option to alter your vote while voting is still

open, transparency of voting, guaranteeing the

impossibility of changing vote outcomes on purpose,

and fault tolerance assurance. People who use this

voting system ought to be allowed to create their own

voting procedures, including lists of candidates,

eligibility requirements (allowing only residents of a

certain jurisdiction to vote), the ability to vote

anonymously, and the ability to change their minds at

any point during the voting session. To make voting

transparent, real-time access to results should be

available to every user of a remote voting system.

According to the assurance adjustments, infiltrations

to alter a person's information in order to affect the

voting process and its results should not occur.

According to the fault tolerance assurance, the

system must continue to function even if a voting

database device breaks down. Blockchain technology

organizes blocks into a continuous chain. The

foundation of it is distributed control. As a result, the

blockchain serves as an information database. Users

using anonymous networks are nodes. All

conversations within the department are to accurately

identify the source and destination; networks use

cryptography. A network-wide consensus is reached

to decide where a fact should be added to the ledger

when a node desires to do so. The term 'block' refers

to this arrangement.

234

K, M. and Dhivya, G.

Blockchain Technology Application for Electronic Voting Systems.

DOI: 10.5220/0012611900003739

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Artiﬁcial Intelligence for Internet of Things: Accelerating Innovation in Industry and Consumer Electronics (AI4IoT 2023), pages 234-239

ISBN: 978-989-758-661-3

Figure 1: (a) Remote voting algorithm using smart contracts. (b) Decentralized Application.

The core tenet of blockchain technology is that all

data is stored in copies or information-rich blocks on

the devices of users linked to the blockchain network.

Since there are more users on the blockchain network,

the work is more reliable and of a higher standard, for

it is totally transparent, changing every other record

in the chain because each new block builds on the one

before it (Moore & Lopez 1999). Let's show that this

is true.

Each block is composed of a current before it, a

set of transactions, and some data. Depending on the

Blockchain's goal, a block may include different

types of data. A block's hash can be compared to a

fingerprint. It identifies the block and all of its

contents; it is always unique. The hash is computed

after a block is formed. If anything inside the block is

modified, the hash will change. In other words,

hashes come in handy when it comes to spotting block

modifications. A block is no longer the same block if

the block's hash changes. The hash of the preceding

block is the third component in each block. The

Blockchain technology is more secure than a

traditional ledger because every block includes the

hash of the preceding block, (see Figure 1).

Every block owner is aware of the hash of the

block before it. Consequently, according to Figure 1,

Block 3 points to Block 2, and Block 2 points to Block

1. Being the first block, the Genesis block is unique

in that it cannot refer to the prior block. It's referred

to as a generating block.

The hash of Block 2 will change if we assume that

Block 2 has been altered (falsified) (see Figure 2).

Consequently, Block 3 and all succeeding blocks will

become void because they no longer possess a valid

hash of the block before them. Thus, changing one

block invalidates all succeeding blocks. However,

hashing by itself cannot prevent tampering.

Modern computers operate at incredibly high

speeds, allowing for swift modifications to blocks and

quick recalculations of hashes to restore the

Blockchain's validity. To prevent this, Blockchain

employs a 'proof of work' mechanism (Moore &

Lopez 1999). This method slows down new block

production and significantly complicates altering

existing blocks, as recalculating 'proof of work' for

one block necessitates the same for all subsequent

blocks. Hence, the proof of work and sharing of

hashes form the bedrock of blockchain security.

Additionally, decentralization plays a vital role in

Blockchain's self-protection. Rather than relying on a

centralized institution (peer-to-peer network),

anybody can connect. Each user connected to this

network receives a complete copy of the chain to

verify its legitimacy.

Every node in the network receives copies of

newly created blocks and conducts hash checks to

ensure their validity. Once each node verifies that

every detail in a block is in place, the network reaches

consensus. This consensus distinguishes valid from

incorrect blocks. To falsify a chain and achieve

consensus, all modified blocks and those following in

Blockchain Technology Application for Electronic Voting Systems

235

the chain must be altered, making it practically

impossible to manipulate.

The benefits of decentralization, data

immutability, preservation of all transactions through

blockchain technology, are remarkable. These

features allow blockchain to capitalize on its

advantages and overcome hurdles. A recent

advancement is the development of smart contracts.

By communicating pre-written conditions to all

nodes, a smart contract connects Blockchain to the

outside world (Moore & Lopez 1999). This

innovation eliminates the need for a notary public or

other authorized intermediary, acknowledged by both

parties.

Blockchain-based electronic voting systems have

made headway in numerous established nations and

gained acceptance not only at regional but also

federal levels. For instance, after a successful test of

a voting system for corporate shareholders in Estonia,

West Virginia proposed the creation of a state-level

blockchain-based voting platform for absentee

voting. This system preserves anonymity and is more

efficient (Johnson 2019).

Notable among private initiatives is the

government pilot, creating an electronic voting

platform allowing mobile voting while leveraging

Blockchain's immutability and the security features of

the latest smartphone technology. Voatz has

successfully conducted live elections at city meetings,

state party congresses, and student government

elections (Faour 2018). Follow My Vote, though still

in the demo stage, has gained widespread attention,

aiming to establish a voting platform ensuring

accurate results and election transparency without

compromising voter privacy (Wayne 2019).

Kaspersky Lab stood out among Russian

developers by developing the Blockchain- and

encryption-secured Polys electronic voting

technology (Jafar et al 2021). Another attention-

worthy project is the 'Active Citizen' project for

conducting open referendums, developed at the

request of the City Government in 2014. Moscow's

voting system transitioned to Blockchain in

November 2017, utilizing smart contracts for vote

execution. The voting results impact departmental

decisions and local ordinances for Moscow

(Schlaufer 2021). Despite several advances a block

chain based voting system ha snot been implemented

or adopted by any of the democratic countries.

2 BLOCKCAHIN BASED VOTING

SYSTEM

The remote electronic voting system utilizes mobile

communication. To participate in voting through this

system, you need to install the mobile application on

your device. The Blockchain-based remote electronic

voting approach presented comprises the following

steps:

Identify confirmation:

In order to use mobile voting, a citizen must initially

establish their legal status in the country. This

requires presenting their identity to the Operator—an

impartial third party authorized to verify the user's

identification and voting rights—by using the identity

blockchain point and displaying an identity

document. Consequently, only voters with the legal

entitlement are permitted to vote, following this

process to gain access to electronic voting.

The Central Election Commission (CEC)

designates a specific time before the elections

commence (for instance, during the presidential

campaign) for verifying the voter's identity. Election

organizers (Operators) solely conduct this procedure,

making the system not entirely automated. However,

the transparency of the identity card verification

process remains intact.

Registration:

The user must possess an address space within the

Blockchain technology to utilize it. This can be

obtained by using an optical QR code scanner

available in the mobile application. By scanning the

QR code, the user establishes connection to the

Blockchain.

The election process begins when a voter transfers

a token representing their preferred candidate, similar

to sending a conventional election token. Anonymity

is maintained during this process as the

cryptocurrency token is transferred from one wallet to

another using encryption. The voter's token remains

disconnected from their identification due to the

absence of a unique identifier (QR code) on their

mobile device.

The Election Administrator sets a time limit for

the token, after which it either becomes invalid or,

through a smart contract, self-destructs. The

automated adjustment of the voting period impacts

the functionality of the "Cast your vote" and "Change

your vote" buttons in the user's mobile application. If

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236

a user logs into the mobile app before the voting

period begins, the "Cast your vote" button is disabled.

The voting options include "Cast your vote" and

"Change your vote." If a user doesn't have sufficient

time to cast their vote within the voting period, the

"Cast your vote" button becomes inactive.

With this ballot distribution method, voters can

cast their votes on election day after receiving their

token before the polls open. When tokens are issued,

it's clear whose vote they correspond to within the

Blockchain network.

Viewing voting results and transactions is

accessible through the mobile app by selecting "My

transactions," enabling voters to confirm in real-time

that their votes were accurately sent and securely

recorded in the Blockchain. Additionally, after

confirming the selection of their preferred candidate,

an indecisive voter can anonymously modify their

vote anytime until the voting period concludes.

After casting their ballot, voters can check the

public transaction register and interim online voting

results through the "All transactions" option in the

mobile app. Post the voting deadline, voters can

access the mobile application online to view the final

voting results.

The system allows for straightforward voting with

the "Cast Your Vote" button and a list of candidates

with checkboxes. A smart contract ensures that all

data entered into the remote electronic voting system

is securely transferred into the blockchain systems.

A smart contract is a piece of programmable code

(Moore & Lopez 1999) structured to store data

hierarchically. In the voting system, it encompasses

essential data: the list of authorized voters, election

date, time, location, candidate list, and the votes cast

for each candidate.

3 RESULTS

Improved voting process transparency: Eliminating

the reliance on national election officials, notorious

for biases in vote tabulation, is facilitated by real-time

monitoring enabled by the technology. This enhances

users' confidence in the system.

Commitment to voter anonymity: The specific

ballot remains confidential until acknowledged by the

voter, ensuring complete ownership.

Enhanced system reliability and security:

Trustworthy vote results stored on the blockchain

network increase data security. The system's security

lies in its inability to be tampered with without

affecting other users. Any attempt at data falsification

requires access to all information-containing blocks

across the decentralized Blockchain network,

thwarting hacking attempts seen in computerized

voting.

Promise of fault tolerance: Decentralization via

Blockchain technology ensures each user device

holds a copy of vote data, even if some devices

malfunction, ensuring uninterrupted system

functionality.

Increased civic engagement: Enabling early ballot

casting online from any location is crucial, especially

for absentee voters. This accessibility promotes

higher participation rates, enhancing electoral rights'

actual exercise.

Rise in effectiveness: The proposed remote voting

technique minimizes the time, costs, and

organizational challenges associated with traditional

elections, reducing resource-intensive processes like

ballot production, commission salaries, and facility

rentals.

Quicker processing rate: The decentralized nature

allows for real-time voting result transmission via the

blockchain network, significantly reducing workload.

Accountability and limitations: Citizens are held

responsible for their actions when using the program.

Sharing personal mobile devices with installed voting

applications is prohibited for security reasons,

ensuring the integrity of the election process."

4 ENERGY ASSORTED

The primary objective of this project is to establish a

secure voting environment, showcasing the potential

for a dependable e-voting system employing

blockchain technology. Decision-making within this

system will be participatory, allowing every computer

or mobile phone user to engage in e-voting. This

inclusivity fosters increased visibility and

accessibility of public opinion to managers and

lawmakers, ultimately leading toward universal direct

democracy (Jafar et al 2021).

Recent events, especially in rural and corrupt

regions, have highlighted the vulnerability of

individuals in traditional elections, where large-scale

elections are both expensive and often witness low

voter turnout due to various reasons like inaccurate

Blockchain Technology Application for Electronic Voting Systems

237

listings or voter absence. Implementing electronic

voting resolves many such issues.

The project focuses on developing a decentralized

and adaptable e-voting protocol without a Trusted

Third Party (TTP). Our scope is primarily limited to

smaller-scale polls, like college elections, as the

Ethereum network's scalability for nationwide

elections requires further research.

The system operates via Ethereum's blockchain

technology, enabling execution through any browser.

By using smart contracts written in Solidity, we

ensure a secure and verifiable voting mechanism,

facilitating broader election influence.

Various successful implementations, like

Estonia's e-voting system, serve as valuable models.

These systems continue to evolve, maintaining

reliability and robustness with personal card readers

and smart digital ID cards distributed by the

government (Tsahkna 2013).

Furthermore, our project includes features such as

petition creation via the parliament's website

(http://rahvaalgatus.ee), highlighting technology's

support for democracy. However, these systems are

vulnerable to hacking attempts. Employing

blockchain enhances security by preventing

tampering and ensuring transparent transactions.

Switzerland's use of computerized voting systems

and experimental blockchain-based systems in Sierra

Leone and Russia illustrate diverse attempts at

modernizing elections. While platforms like

http://www.strawpoll.me/ demonstrate the

accessibility of electronic voting, security concerns

around voter identification and fraud persist, making

it essential to further refine e-voting mechanisms for

widespread use in official elections.

5 PROSPECTS

Because it allows greater security while maintaining

system transparency and user privacy in comparison

to services based on conventional databasesthe

developed remote electronic voting system's sales

market will have opportunities in a number of

organisations that require remote voting..

It is important to note the following among the

primary market segments for using Blockchain

technology for remote voting:

• government agencies that oversee citizen voting;

• entities that use anonymous voting to reach

significant decisions;

In several categories.

Registration Phase: The voter must first register

themselves with their distinct identification and

personal data, including name, roll number, and

cellphone number. The database has all of this

information.

registering to vote. Voter logs on with a password

during this phase. After logging in successfully, a

voter must authenticate themselves in order to cast a

ballot. OTP verification is used for real-time

authentication to increase security.

Blockchain technology: This technology's

security qualities are what make it so popular.

Blockchain offers a transparent and safe environment.

The voter message (the cast vote) is encrypted using

an asymmetric encryption technique on the

blockchain. Blockchain offers a public key, and the

host has the private key. Ledger uses public key for

verification purposes.

Ethereum Network: The Ethereum network

offers a structure for the development and storage of

blockchains. Each block is formed, and the

information related to it is kept in an encrypted

ledger. Because these newly produced blocks are

dispersed among nodes, the system has a high fault

tolerance.

6 CONCLUSIONS

It is necessary to conduct online identity blockchain-

based architecture to be fully automated. After then,

there is no question individual delivered used device.

In this work, we presented a novel, blockchain-based

electronic voting system that ensures voters' privacy

while enabling secure and affordable elections. In

contrast to earlier research, we have demonstrated

that the blockchain technology presents a fresh

opportunity for democratic nations to move away

from the pen and paper election system and towards

a more time- and cost-effective election system while

enhancing the security features of the current system

and providing new opportunities for transparency.

In both political and academic areas, there is

ongoing debate over electronic voting. Despite the

fact that there are a few excellent instances, failed to

fulfil or had significant usability and scalability

problems. Contrarily, blockchain-based e-voting

solutions, like the one we created using smart

contracts and the Ethereum network, address (or may

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address with pertinent modifications) almost all of the

security issues, and the accuracy of the tally.

Although there is a lot of potential in blockchain

technology, much more research is needed before it

can be said to have reached its full potential. To make

the underlying blockchain technology more capable

of supporting more sophisticated applications, a

concentrated effort is required critical integration

technological equipping people, and public regarding

use of new technologies.

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